Are new Briggs engines any good?

2014 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by john9001, Feb 1, 2012

JayC

Discussion Starter · Jan 25, 2012

After a long and ugly battle with Home Depot, I ended up trading my 3-y/o Powermate 5kW/6.25kW generator with it's Subaru EX30 engine for a B&S 5.5kW/8.25kW generator. The Briggs is powered by a 1450-series engine (14.5 ft-lbs).

I really liked the Subaru engine, and hated to dump it, but the case seal was bad and the HD contractors were too incompetent to fix it. The motor weeped a bit of oil from the bad seal, but was maintained and tuned exquisitely (by me) and ran like a Swiss watch. I would've done it myself, but it was still under engine warranty - unfortunately, the small-engine shop HD uses are a bunch of blithering boobs. HD ultimately offered to take my generator back and give me a new one. The closest thing they had was the B&S (Storm Responder).

I'm really not a big fan of B&S motors in general, at least not the new ones (especially compared to something like the Subaru EX30). As an emergency piece of equipment, this thing needs to run good and be reliable / trouble-free. Should I be worried, or are these engines OK?

JayC

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JayC

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 25, 2012

RED-85-Z51 said:
14.50 series is not a bad engine, but its a homeowner grade engine, the Subaru was more or less commercial quality. I hope they gave you a generous credit back as the briggs is cheap compared to the Ru.

The briggs engine is VERY sensitive to Ethanol and old gas...they will not tolerate it, and the carbs are very expensive.

Yea, homeowner grade is my impression of all Briggs stuff. The Subaru engine was nice. I originally got the first generator on sale for $450 (down from $600), so the even swap credit on the $799 Briggs sounds like a good deal (on the surface). I still think the Powermate was a better generator, even though it listed for $200 less.

AFAIK, all engines are sensitive to ethanol and old gas, at least that's my experience. I have a dozen motorcycles in storage-mode, the little ones are the worst when it comes to old fuel. I keep all of my machines stored with fresh oil and a completely dry fuel system. When I pull them out, everything always starts right up even after sitting for years.

JayC

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